With Covid and flu, waiting in emergency rooms reaches 6 hours in São Paulo

The wait for care in public and private emergency rooms in the city of São Paulo is up to six hours as a result of the influenza outbreak and the increase in cases of Covid-19.

In the first three days of the year alone, 20,333 people with respiratory symptoms were treated at the municipal health network. There were 282 calls per hour, on average. Of the total attended, 11,585 had suspected Covid, the equivalent of 57%.

A leaf visited nine addresses in the south, east and west of São Paulo this Tuesday (4) and found waiting rooms full of patients with flu symptoms.

The situation in private hospitals was as chaotic as that of health posts. Some private addresses were not careful to separate patients with flu symptoms from others.

Medical student Larissa Valencia, 23, was wrapped in a red comforter for four hours, waiting for care in the emergency room of the São Luiz hospital unit in Anália Franco, on the east side. “I’m dizzy from so much pain in my body,” he said.

She believes she was infected by her mother, who spent the holiday season isolated from her family after being diagnosed with the H3N2 influenza virus. “We took care of it, but I think I ended up taking it too,” said the student.

The private hospital set aside a waiting room just to receive patients with flu-like symptoms and isolate them from the others. The chairs were not enough and many people had to wait standing.

At the Morumbi unit of the São Luiz hospital, signs of high demand for patients were already visible on the street, where a line of cars was waiting to enter the parking lot. Inside, the waiting time for a medical appointment was 3-4 hours.

According to local officials and people awaiting care, patients with flu-like symptoms were not isolated.

Banker Caroline de Almeida Oliveira, 37, gave up waiting for her turn. After a trip to the beach, she began to show symptoms of Covid-19 and decided to go to the emergency room. Now, she says she will take the quick test at a pharmacy and treat the symptoms with pain relievers. The hospital network was contacted by the report, but did not respond to inquiries.

The same crowded lobby was seen in the private hospital Vitória, on the east side. The patient Priscila Teixeira was called to be seen around 2 pm after arriving at the emergency room at 10 am. “I have a lot of back pain. My daughter and my husband are also sick,” she said.

Sought, the hospital Vitória claimed to follow care protocols and that it increased the number of doctors in view of the 28.8% increase in care compared to the months of November and December.

Another private hospital visited was Santa Paula, on the west side, where the wait was six hours for emergency room assistance. The establishment created a specific password for patients complaining of flu-like symptoms, but there was no physical separation from the others in the waiting room.

In a statement, the hospital said that the demand for patients with respiratory symptoms increased 268% in December compared to November and, therefore, the wait increased.

In the public network, there were also a lot of people to be seen, but the waiting time was relatively shorter in some units. At AMA Água Rasa, on the east side, the forecast was for a two-hour wait, and patients with flu-like symptoms were directed to an outdoor area.

Self-employed Marcelo Carraro, 53, was awaiting an appointment with his daughter Pamela Carraro, 23, after his wife was diagnosed with Covid-19 right after Christmas. “The whole family has symptoms,” he said.

At AMA Paraisópolis, on the south side, a tent with chairs was set up for patients with flu-like symptoms. There, the waiting time was about two hours.

At AMA Sorocabana, in Lapa, on the west side, there was not even a chair for all patients to wait for care. Many were standing, some even sat on the floor. Cleaning assistant Verônica do Carmo, 44, arrived at the unit at 8 am and until 1 pm had not even gone through screening.

It was the second day in a row that she had sought care due to flu symptoms. On Monday (3), she waited three hours to be seen at another health center, but gave up. “I was so tired and I had such a high fever that I couldn’t wait. I went to work today, but my boss let me go because he saw I was so sick.”

In Freguesia do Ó, in the northern area, patients waited more than four hours at AMA Vila Palmeiras. With no symptoms, Isabelle de Melo, 22, sought medical attention after everyone in her family tested positive for Covid. She wanted to audition so she wouldn’t have to go to work in person. “It’s the third health unit I’m looking for, they’re all waiting for more than four hours and they don’t even guarantee they’ll test me because I’m asymptomatic,” he said.

At Ama Boracea, in Barra Funda, the waiting time to go through the screening was about 30 minutes this Tuesday morning (4). Only after the first assessment were patients informed if they would be tested and referred for medical care.

In a statement, the Municipal Health Department said that it started in December the care of people with flu-like symptoms without the need to schedule an appointment at the 469 UBS. Tents were installed in the units with the highest number of assistances to expedite the screening.​

The administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) did not inform, however, whether it intends to adopt more measures to reduce service time in view of the new high in demand at the beginning of the year.